Casino (released November 22, 1995) is a U.S.-produced movie based on the book by Nicholas Pileggi . It was directed by Martin Scorsese and starred Robert DeNiro as Sam "Ace" Rothstein, Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro and Sharon Stone as Rothstein's wife, Ginger. The story revolves around Rothstein, a top gambling handicapper who is called by the mob to oversee the day-to-day operations at the fictional Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. The mob bosses also send enforcer Nicky Santoro to Las Vegas to make sure that money from the Tangiers is skimmed off the top and given to the bosses back home and that the casinos and mobsters in Las Vegas are kept in line.
The movie is based on the true story of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont and the Hacienda casinos in Las Vegas for the mob from the 1970's until the early 1980's, and Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro, the enforcer for the Chicago mob. On November 30, 1988 Rosenthal was listed in the Nevada Gaming Control Board's notorious Black Book. Once his name had been placed in this book he could no longer step foot into any gambling establishment in the State of Nevada. Rosenthal retired to San Diego, California and then to Boca Raton, Florida. In June of 1986, Anthony Spilotro and his brother Michael were found dead, buried in a cornfield near Enos, Indiana . It is believed that the Spilotro brothers were ordered "whacked" (murdered) by the Chicago mob bosses after Anthony Spilotro allegedly attempted to kill Rosenthal with a car bomb.
Rosenthal and Spilotro's real-life attorney, Oscar Goodman, the so-called mouthpiece for the mob, and who ironically is now the mayor of Las Vegas, made a cameo appearance in the movie as himself.
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Last updated: 05-21-2005 10:47:09
